Leading European and international specialists will meet in Lisbon from 27–28 June to take stock of the global new drugs phenomenon. The 

Third international multidisciplinary forum on new drugs

, will gather over 100 participants from some 40 countries.

The event will build on the results of the 

Second interdisciplinary forum on new and emerging psychoactive substances

First international multidisciplinary forum on new drugs

in Lisbon in May 2011. These events focused on the growing global nature of the phenomenon and the importance of international cooperation in responding to the issue.

Commenting ahead of this year’s forum, 

 says: ‘Only a few years ago, new drugs were generally regarded as being of limited significance to drug policy. The continued growth of the market, however — particularly driven by “legal highs” — has seen the issue develop into a complex policy challenge that is now of major international concern’.

Read here more information about the event.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.

3rd international multidisciplinary forum on new drugs

Under the auspices of the International AIDS Society, an international working group of researchers developed and published a Global Scientific Strategy “Towards an HIV Cure”, which was launched at a scientific symposium immediately preceding the XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC in July 2012. The symposium brought together over 300 researchers in basic, clinical and social sciences and community representatives and provided a platform to present state-of-the-art research on the HIV cure research priority areas defined in the strategy.

Following the successful launch of the Global Scientific Strategy “Towards an HIV Cure” in Washington, DC in July 2012, the IAS and the “Towards an HIV Cure” Advisory Board are organizing another 2-day scientific symposium on 29 & 30 June 2013, immediately prior to the 7th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Kuala Lumpur.

The symposium, co-chaired by Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, IAS President, and Steven Deeks, Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), will be closely linked to the IAS 2013 conference programme. The symposium will bring together senior, mid-career and junior scientists, clinical researchers, scientific journalists, research funding administrators and community representatives.

Registration for the 2013 Towards an HIV Cure symposium is now open, please apply here.

The IAS will invite submissions of abstracts pertinent to HIV cure research, and sessions will be organized at IAS 2013 to report on the highlights of the symposium. Relevant abstracts submitted to the IAS Conference can be considered for oral or poster presentation at the symposium, in particular those in the categories outlined below.

Please submit abstracts online at www.ias2013.org; abstract submission will be open from 1 December 2012 until 24 January 2013. Abstract submitters must indicate that they would like their abstract to be considered for the “Towards an HIV Cure” pre-conference symposium using the opt-in tick-box on the submission page.

For further information on the symposium, please click here. If you have any queries, please contact hivcure@iasociety.org.

More information and Call for Abstracts, here:

Scientific Symposium “Towards an HIV Cure”

The 7th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2013), will be held from 30 June– 3 July 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and will be dedicated to the exploration and implementation of HIV science. This biennial gathering is a crucial opportunity for the world’s leading scientists, clinicians, implementers, public health experts and community leaders to examine the latest developments in HIV-related research, and to explore how scientific advances can be translated quickly into effective interventions to prevent and treat HIV, particularly in low and middle-income countries.

IAS 2013 will be an opportunity to highlight new scientific developments and the need to rapidly implement them in the field. We will also continue to emphasize monitoring the effectiveness of programmes as we scale up treatment and prevention, given that we still have tremendous strides to make before reaching the goal of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.

Malaysia is the first Asian host of the IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention. As a region with the largest geographic area and population, dramatically varied levels of wealth, diverse epidemic patterns and a complex mix of structural and behavioural determinants of risk, Asia and the Pacific is faced with significant challenges in terms of its HIV epidemic. By bringing the conference to the region, delegates from all over the world can learn from the important successes and challenges of our Asian colleagues.

Malaysia itself has been chosen as host country for several reasons, notably the government’s commitment to provide free HIV treatment to all Malaysians in need of antiretroviral therapy, as well as its leadership in the area of HIV prevention for people who use drugs, with Malaysia now serving as a model for countries all over the world experiencing steep increases in HIV infections related to ineffective drug policy.

IAS 2013 will be organized by the International AIDS Society (IAS), in partnership with the Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), University of Malaya a centre established in 2007 to undertake HIV-related research with a particular focus on HIV and substance use and related co-morbidities including tuberculosis (TB) and hepatitis C.

In the months ahead, we urge you learn more about the IAS 2013 scientific programme, develop and submit abstracts, and make plans to join us as we strengthen our collective efforts to further all facets of HIV science and hasten their implementation in the settings where they are needed most.

We would like to draw your attention on the following sessions of interest:

High Level Panel on Drug Policies and Public Health

Community Forum: ‘Building Partnerships between the Community and Scientists to Strengthen the Response to HIV’

IAS Members' Meeting at IAS 2013: 'None Left Behind' – the IAS's Work with Key Affected Populations

Evidence-Based Drug Policies for an Effective HIV Response